SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – For some, the San Diego River is peaceful with wildlife and vegetation. For others, it's home.
"In our most recent census, we counted 250 people living just in the City of San Diego along the river,” Sarah Hutmacher with The San Diego River Park Foundation said.
Hutmacher said when you factor in Santee, the number of people along the river jumps to over 300.
"A lot of folks who have only been living here, maybe for a short time, haven't experienced the type of flooding we see out here,” Hutmacher said.
So, she and others got ahead of the heaviest of the rain to warn people living along the riverbed about the dangers the rain can bring. They use their data to figure out where people typically stay to warn them.
"We can overlay that with the areas that are predicted to flood and then prioritize going out in advance to make sure people know that the rain is coming and to see if they can get out of harm's way,” Hutmacher said.
If they aren't able to get to people in person or if people don't have access to technology to know a storm's brewing, the River Park Foundation is setting up signs in access points that are areas where people may use to get to their encampments.
"This is obviously just the weather forecast, an estimation of when we expect flooding to start, and we print out the estimation of how high the river is expected and when,” Hutmacher said as she showed ABC 10News one of the signs.
Hutmacher told ABC 10News that the foundation's most recent census shows fewer people on the river compared to this last fall.
Despite the lower numbers and being grateful for funding to do this work, she says the effort to help can't stop.
"It's still a problem that needs a lot more investment, a lot more attention so we can get people the help that they need to not live out here where they're going to be vulnerable to flooding,” Hutmacher said.
Hutmacher also told ABC 10News that they also hand out care kits with ponchos, warm socks, hats and snacks prior to the weather event.
